According to this review of the Samsung I300, PCS wont be turning on high-speed data until the end of '02. First I have heard of this....
cnet.com
Samsung's color Palm phone nears launch
By David Carnoy
(8/30/01)
Samsung recently had a sneak-peek party for its I300 smart phone, a.k.a. the color Palm phone, at the trendy Hudson Hotel in New York, and the Insider was there to take it all in. Of course, if you've read this column in the past, the I300 is old news, but I got a look at the near-final product, due out sometime in September, and have a few insights, as well as a little inside dope to disseminate.
Samsung I300
Down-and-dirty details
First off, all of you who bought Kyocera's 6035 Palm phone are going to be sorry you didn't wait for the I300. Not that we don't like Kyocera's phone, but the I300 is more compact (six ounces) and sleeker, and it'll turn more heads. It also has a color screen. Granted, it's only 8-bit (256 colors), but it's color nonetheless.
Price: Sprint PCS, which will provide the service for the I300, hasn't announced a price for the phone, but T. J. Person, the Samsung business development manager who presented the product demo at the party, said it would cost $499 with service. That's $100 more than Kyocera's 6035 and $200 more than Sprint's upcoming Digital Link phone module for Handspring Visors.
Battery life: Since the I300 has a color screen, I was a little concerned about battery life. But Person says you can get up to 4 hours of continuous talk time and 72 hours of standby time. As a bonus, the unit will ship with a second battery, plus a faux leather carrying case that clips onto your belt.
Wireless Web: For those looking for a little future-proofing, alas, the I300, which is a dual-band model (CDMA 1900/AMPS 800), won't be compatible with Sprint's forthcoming high-speed 3G data network. (The follow-up to the SCH-8500 will be Samsung's first 3G phone, says Person). Users will be able to surf the Internet at a sluggish 14.4Kbps (on a good day) using a Sprint-optimized version of Handspring's Blazer browser, as well as log in to Sprint's wireless Web via a preloaded WAP browser.
Person downplayed the significance of the I300's lack of 3G support, saying that Sprint wouldn't have its high-speed data service (up to 144Kbps) available to customers until the end of 2002. Sprint's 3G network is scheduled to be accessible nationwide by mid-2002, but the initial gains will only be voice related: increased network capacity and improved battery life, Person explained. He also added that users who are expecting reasonably high speeds (60Kbps) from 2.5G GPRS networks--such as the ones AT&T and Cingular recently launched in Seattle--will be disappointed. "I think we're looking at more like 28.8Kbps max from GPRS," he said. We both agreed, however, that a device like the I300 that supported high-speed data transfer rates would be a killer product.
Smart phone of the moment
For at least a few months, the I300 should rule the smart phone roost. LG's successor to the TP3000, the TM910, which is due out before year's end, is shaping up to be an alluring product. At 5.3 ounces, it will weigh slightly less than the I300, and unlike the I300, it will be compatible with Sprint's 3G (1XRTT) network. Though LG will be beefing up the applications, particularly in the e-mail department, as well as increasing PIM functionality, it still uses a proprietary operating system. The Samsung's one advantage: like Kyocera's 6035, the I300 lets you upload a wide variety of existing Palm software and Web-clipping applications to the phone. The only drawback is that the I300, despite its 8MB of built-in memory, doesn't have a slot for adding removable memory.
More Samsung mobiles
The I300 isn't the only Samsung phone due to hit the market shortly. After a few years of being tightly linked to Sprint PCS (its SCH-3500 is Sprint's best-selling phone of all time), the company is going to be providing several products for other carriers. Verizon Wireless customers will be happy to note that I just received a review sample of the SCH-T300, a model that features a large display and looks like a more masculine, oversized version of the popular SCH-6100. This should be a nice midrange addition to the Verizon Wireless lineup when it comes out in October. Finally, next month, VoiceStream customers should look out for the moderately priced and compact SGH-N105. |
